Max Verstappen was having a strong race on an alternative strategy, which would have guaranteed a podium finish. Verstappen was using his three-stop strategy to stay ahead of the Ferraris and Mercedes and possibly even challenge Lando Norris. But a late safety car changed everything.
Kimi Antonelli had an engine failure and beached the car in the gravel at turn 10. This caused the safety car to be deployed, giving everyone a chance to pit for new tyres. This would have levelled the playing field. However, a miscommunication on the Red Bull pit wall cost Verstappen the podium.
Miscommunication leaves Max Verstappen off the podium at the Spanish GP
After the strategies had played out, Max Verstappen was still behind both McLarens. Lando Norris was able to pull clear of the four-time world champion after his final pit stop on the fresher tyres. However, a late safety car would bunch the field close again, giving Verstappen a chance to challenge the McLarens on an equal footing. However, a miscommunication between the Dutchman and the pit wall put pay to that.
Once the safety car was deployed, Verstappen asked his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase: “Do we have another set of tyres. It will make a difference, fresh tyres.”
Verstappen was then put onto fresh hard tyres. The teams did not favour the hard tyre as it offered low grip and was difficult to warm up. To the surprise of many, including Verstappen, those are the tyres Red Bull chose to put on his RB21. Verstappen seemed confused, asking his team why they decided to put him on the hard tyres.
Lambiase replied: “That was the only option.“. Lambiase is referring to Max’s call for fresh tyres. The Dutchman’s only fresh set was the hard tyre, which was fitted to his RB21. However, a used set of soft tyres would have worked better. All the drivers who pitted went onto either a fresh or a used set of the soft tyre.
⚪| Max Verstappen on his Safety car restart on hard tyres:
“Yeah, I had a big moment there in the last corner. Unfortunately, the hard tyres had very low grip, so yeah, that was quite painful. But yeah, basically we just ran out of tyres. I mean, hindsight, was it better to…
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 1, 2025
The hard tyres struggled to get up to temperature for the safety car restart, as Verstappen had a massive slide out of the final corner. This cost him a position to Charles Leclerc and gave George Russell the run on him. This decision cost Max Verstappen a chance to fight the McLarens and stay on the podium.
Red Bull struggled for pace in Barcelona
Red Bull were expected to be strong in Barcelona. This track is similar to those in Japan and Imola, where Max Verstappen won races this season. However, this wasn’t the case as McLaren had the pace on him.
Even with an aggressive three-stop strategy where Verstappen could push on his tyres, he was behind Lando Norris, who was able to pull away from the Dutchman after both their final stops.
🟠| Oscar Piastri in the post race interview:
“It was a bit of a surprise to see Max try and three-stop and it nearly worked for him. But it was a great weekend, the pace was good and just really proud. A much better bounce back from Monaco. A superb weekend.
“Hard to complain,…
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 1, 2025
Max admitted the RB21 lacked grip during qualifying, and he suffered from high tyre degradation during the race. McLaren was able to look after their tyres better, which gave them the optimum strategy. Red Bull rolled the dice but ultimately lacked the pace to challenge the papaya team.
